The cloak made a satisfying whooshing sound when Lucius Malfoy pulled it off it's hook and settled it over his shoulders. In the mirror's reflection he could see Narcissa on the other end of the room, she was patting her coiffure, making sure that her hatpins would hold through the ball. The night wasn't anything special, just one more in an endless parade of business events pretending to be galas, but Lucius' stomach fluttered slightly with anxiousness. This would be the first time he would be seen at an event with his wife for quite a long time. Things had been difficult enough when the pair had initially separated. Of course, nothing official ever happened, they just gradually stopped being seen together. There had been whispers, but they had mostly died away. He had a feeling that they would start up again now with the sudden reappearance of the Malfoys as a set. The only thing more gossip-inducing than a split, is a strange and sudden reunion.
His wife didn't seem to feel the same way. She seemed excited to be going to a ball again, she had spent much of the day secreted away in her parlor rummaging around with what Lucius could only imagine was a large and expensive collection of beauty products. It made him angry knowing that she had not a care in the world while he was left to worry.
But then, resentment had become his shadow in the past few months. Narcissa had moved back into the manor, though they slept in separate rooms, a decision made mutually and wordlessly. During the first few days of her being back he had watched impassively as she seemed to try to slip into the mold of the iconic Happy Married Couple. She had kissed him. He moved his lips against hers in what he hoped could pass as a real kiss, but he pulled away when she snaked her arm around his neck. After a few more failed attempts at intimacy, she gave up.
So much time had passed since their relationship had fallen apart. Seasons had come and gone since they had both realized that the love they had once felt was simply no longer there. It nearly drove Lucius mad when he looked around at his life and saw that nothing had changed in that time. They were back in the exact same situation they had been in before the separation. Would his life never change? Would he really spend the rest of his days in such a disagreeable manner?
As ever, his one solace was Draco. His reunion with Narcissa had reaped one benefit, his son was coming around more often. He now saw Draco nearly every day. Even there though, was a downside. Draco had become more angry, often being snide with them when the three of them were together. Some days it seemed like Draco came to visit only to roll his eyes and make excuses to leave. It was better than nothing.
At the dinner that evening, the three of them sat together at the long table of ministry fat cats. Several people would whisper amongst themselves about how Lucius and Narcissa never spoke to one another for the whole evening, but each chatted with a reluctant Draco and the others as if nothing was wrong.
He was a broken man. To any one who cared to look, it was written plain as day on his face. His shoulders sagged weakly where they had once been strong and imposing. He seemed to get lost in his thoughts, staring into space for long stretches of time. He had never been so introverted before. His familiar scowl had sunken into the persistent frown of a man resigned to his own misfortune.
He didn't think of Cecilia Wells consciously, but her absence was like a constant force in the room. Every moment was tainted with it. She drifted always along the peripherals and he had begun to treat the memory of his short time with her as one treats a fairy tale. Perfect, ethereal, and completely unconnected to reality. The Lucius who had loved Cecilia was someone Else. A temporary doppelganger that had wandered accidentally into his life. Not this Lucius, who chewed his meal silently in a room filled to the brim with music and laughter.